Monday, March 19, 2012

The Curve

I received my sewing machine for Christmas from my parents in 2010... Mom set it up for me and made sure it was threaded properly and said "There you go, good luck, call your def grandmother if you need help, hahaha". Well great... That machine sat at our table for months and months until finally my husband told me to step up or move the damn machine. The fear had built to such a level my eyes would almost cross in horror at the thought of breaking this fine piece of equipment. To tell you the truth I don't know exactly how it came about but I started to cut some dollar store fleece into squares and took the plunge into quilting hell (little did I know that a real square wasn't supposed to be hacked out using my dollar store scissors). I have learned more swear words from that sewing machine than working in a sawmill!!! But soon my fear faded and the beginning of a wonderful relationship was born. My first fleecy blankets were abominable and I'm so happy I gave them away to those people I rarely see.

I continued to snip and sew with varying degrees of success, I finally moved down to the basement and took over the spare room when I tackled the biggest project to date applique (smack self in head)! If I had known how hard it was going to be I would never had attempted it, YouTube makes things look easy. Anyhow below is a photo of my results.

As I sunk deeper into my quilting madness (and YouTube). I discovered a local guild called "The Mile '0' Quilters Guild". i called and found out when the meetings were and knocked on the door the following Tuesday, all the ladies looked up at me and continued to inform me that the ballet studio was the next room down... I can't really blame them (actually I was quite flattered), since I was the youngest person there by about 20-30 years. Well once we worked out that I was actually here for the quilting I was welcomed with open arms and as much advice/help/experience anyone could ask for. That is when I finally discovered Leah Day (http://www.daystyledesigns.com/) and the free motion quilting project. I just had to try this machine quilting thing!

So I began the horror of the 'Quilting Curve' again. When you attempt this particular quilting

skill it's kind of appalling how many grinding, clunking, screeching sounds you can make your machine scream (it was kind of nice to make the stupid thing feel my pain for once). But once that I finished this 70's wannabe quilt I had worked out most of the bugs (if not all the clunking) of free motion quilting. So I started finishing up my quilt tops and planning other projects. Anyone need some advice? Stop, think, plan, repeat. Anyhow I tackled another quilt that involved applique mostly because I thought both my children deserved a quilt that mommy slaved over (plus I started to like the pain).

I did better on this second applique quilt mostly because it almost ended up to be the size I had originally planned. It's hard to see the detail of the pieced background (since it's all white) but I needed the practice. I cruised Leah Day's (http://www.daystyledesigns.com/) website until I found a quilting design I liked and I knew would push me beyond sanity and gave 'er a go. I'm pleased with the results but holy crap no you cannot see the back side and the cursed pleats that reside there.

After quilting this yellow bubble quilt (for lack of a better name) I was feeling very comfortable about my quilting ability. I have continued to quilt and am coming up on my one year quilting anniversary. I have a number of projects on the go (including one that is proving to be a real problem). I'm learning that the further I delve into the world of quilting the longer the quilting curve seems to get, but I'm alright with that.

For a child whom was too stubborn to even try to knit and whom re-named herself because her name was too difficult to learn YOU are doing extra ordinarily well with YOUR chosen domestic outlet. Your great great grany was the only one in our family patient enough for quilting - she was very accomplished. Work and Play Hard Sam - you will be well rewarded. Instead of phoning a deaf granny try e-mailing then your blind grandad won't learn about your updated language.

About Me

I have 2 little brats that drive me crazy by playing dodgeball with their glass teaset (I honestly don't know why they did this). My girls are 7 and 8 years old and the 'what the heck is going on' of my life. I'm married to a man who deals with the tangled Christmas lights like a professional and who tries to listen to my quilt rants without rolling his eyes too much. I started quilting in May 2011, and have had to limit my quilting time to after 5pm since that day I realized my kids had eaten raw hotdogs for dinner and run their own bath.